procrastination

I am a firm believer that the more time you have, the less gets done. I have seen this proven dozens of times–I can rush out a ten page paper if it’s due tomorrow, but if it’s due in a week it’ll take me forever, or I’ll procrastinate, or whatever.

I am moving back to Boston tomorrow. Allston, actually. Usually I’d be super prepared, but between all the hours of doing nothing I hadn’t had the time.

Since I’ve gotten back from the Netherlands, nearly a whole month has passed. What do I have to show for it? …nothing. I feel like a lump. I haven’t accomplished a single thing except binge-watching seven seasons of Archer, taking care of the dog, and reading one book. I’ve barely written, and certainly haven’t packed. I’ve been putting off so many things, just because I can.

Soon, it will all change. I’ve excited for the tonal whiplash to encompass my life. I’m ready to be working my ass off again. I’m ready for class, internship, work, homework–work hard, play hard, right?

…I just need to find the motivation to actually do these things. I gotta stop being so lazy!

Like this:

Wednesdays tend to be big procrastination days for me, mostly because it’s right in the thick of everything. Nothing is ever due on a Wednesday; I always have at least Thursday to get things done for work, and oftentimes the whole weekend to get things done for class.

I’ve always aspired to get things done early, and as I’ve gotten on in college I’ve gotten better at time management. But for a long time in high school I was the one staying up until 2 a.m. on a Sunday, writing a paper due in six hours.

I work best under a little pressure, and when something isn’t due for another few days I can’t help but push it off a bit—especially if I’ve already done something productive that day. Eh, I could be super on top of things, or I could do that tomorrow. Tomorrow’s good.

It also depends on how I’m feeling about things. If I’m in a good mood I tend to do better work, but because Wednesday is Wednesday and not Friday I’m rarely in a great mood. I’m just in a Wednesday sort of mood: mild and lazy.

As an introvert I usually have a few moments during every event when I wish it were over, if only so I could have a few minutes to myself, and work is no exception. Parties, school, work…it’s all socially and mentally and physically draining, no matter how fun it is.

Noel Coward once said, “Work is more fun than fun.” I totally buy it. I hate boring summer days spent wandering listlessly from television to video games to eating too much junk food. While it’s what I look forward to now and then, too much of it is, well, too much. Likewise, while I love travelling, the plane home is always a touch more sweet than it is bitter. Perhaps that’s due to my introversion, or my attempt to look at things positively, but also perhaps it’s due to a drive to return to work. We like to feel productive. We don’t like to feel like wasteful lumps.

Work is fun, fulfilling, and makes us feel full, but it’s only natural to want to procrastinate it. Especially on a Wednesday.